Well the title seems to suggest the purpose of the thread clearly enough IMHO so there's no need to elaborate. Onto the comics

Over the last 2 or 3 weeks, I've been through a few of the trade paperbacks/comics from my collection:

V for Vendetta- the oppressive atmosphere doesn't lose any of its bite on the reread. The art from the content, the colouring, and the slight yellowing/pinkening of the pages effect all add up. I'm still engrossed by this one- forget watchmen.

Green Arrow: Quiver story arc plus a few of the issues afterwards- I've really gone off this one since buying the monthly issues a few years back. It's partly the writing- there's not a lot of depth to it, a lot of one-liners and film references that make you smile the 1st time, but a few years on, I wasn't impressed. The art also seems to be lacking IMHO.

Wonder Woman: Gods of Gotham (WW 174-177 or somewhere around there). First things first, the artwork is incredibly detailed - maybe overly so for the story, but it's still a pleasure to look at. The story's good, showing relationships between members of the bat family and the WW family, along with some truly scary merged villans (well children of Ares- fear, discord and terror taking over scarecrow, poison ivy and the joker). It was all going so well until the 3rd issue:

***Potential spoilers***The brats spoilt it all- Batman/WW, Huntress/Artemis and Nightwing/Troia sections were really good- but I really hate young justice after this story- Robin and Wonder Girl- what did you think was going to happen when everyone was going to face their worst fears? The kid fears and reactions spoilt for me what was an entertaining, dark read
*************
Fables: Legends in Exile- I'm still wavering on Fables- one read through, I'm thinking it's good. On another, I'm thinking it's not that good. Now I'm back to square one and I can't put my finger on why

Y-The Last Man: Unmanned- Lovely concept, great read.

Sandman vols 4. Different people like different types of stories, so I guess that's why everyone's got different opinions as to which ones are the best, and thus which sandaman trades are the best. I don't think seasons of mists lived up to the hype surrounding it. There are some very good stories in it (I especially liked the opening chapter), but stuff like the 2nd chapter with lucifer just don't compare with the richness of lucifer's character presented later in the spinoff series. Still a reasonable read, but not quite as good as the previous 3 volumes for me.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen- vol 1
Well I've only gotten hold of this today (thank's to the ridiculously cheap price that virgin was selling it at in it's sale). Read the 1st 2 issues and loving it - the art complements the story perfectly and the world just jumps out at you. Love the cover of issue 1 - looks like one of those pulp serials that I really wish they'd publish. Reads like what I'd imagine of of them to be after wathcing Raiders of the Lost arc too. Can't wait to read the rest of it.

I read way too much comics to be listed here, mostly from Marvel or DC. I enjoy all of them or I wouldn't be paying for them. Current favourites: 1602, Avenger, JLA, JSA, Nightwing, Exiles, Blade of the Immortal, Captain Marvel, Ultimates... I better stop until I list all of them.

I'm still hoping that the Authority team gets its act together, although it doesn't look good.

I liked League of Extraordinary Gentlemen a lot. I just didn't care for the art work much, but the characters and the story were great.

I liked most of the Phil Jimenez run in Wonder Woman and would have liked to see more. I'm a great fan of all the mythological stuff and liked to see all of the minor characters in action.

Went and bought a few trade paperbacks with my b'day money since I'm in a comic mood this month:

Sleeper: Out in the Cold (reprints #1-6). Good story about a sleeper agent whose handler's been stuck in a coma and noone else knows he's a good guy (well it makes it sound like face/off when I put it that way, but sleeper's much better). No black and white, just shades of grey- to stay alive compromises have to be made and acts need to be commited that go against the protagonist's better nature. The story's wonderfully told, emphasising the moral ambiguity of the situation.

Fables: Animal Farm (reprints #6-10). Nice change of pace and a totally different story to that of the 1st trade, this one utilising a political revolutionary story (as sen with Orwell's animal farm). The only caveat that I've got with the thing is that the dialogue doesn't flow as naturally as I'd have liked. Apart from that, a good read.

Y-The Last man: Cycles (#6-10) I'm sorry to disagree with the norm, but I didn't really like this one (which is particularly disappointing for me given the quality of the 1st trade). The plot's not really advanced much, and a lot of it screams 'filler' to me. The town with a hidden secret plot I've seen done much better than this- there just didn't seem to be that much tension in this incarnation.

Lucifer: Inferno (#29-35) I've been looking forward to this for over a year now (since I transitioned from comics to trades at issue #8- around the time ultimates #6 came out). Good read, resolving the plot threads that were left hanging in the air at the end of divine comedy. It's difficult to see where it's heading though. #34,35 do drop some hints but I have no idea what Lucifer's going to do with a ship of nails.

Superman: Red Son (#1-3) I really dug the preview pages that DC put up on their site to promote the release of the indivual issues last year, hoping it'd capture the spirit of Superman for all seasons. When I read this though, it started well, but I lost interest as the story progressed, not really caring what was happening by the end of the 2nd and 3rd chapters. It's not a bad story by any means, but given the hype surrounding its release and the promise of the 1st few pages, I was expecting something more.

Planetary: All Around the World and other stories (#1-6) Loved vol 1 of the authority and sleeper, but I really don't see what everyone sees in this title. I can see the references, but I don't think this is my thing. eg the technobabble in #1 put me off from the outset.

I just read "Origin" the story of how Wolverine became whom he is now. The story starts when Wolverine is a 12-year-old boy and finishes when he is in his twenty (exact age not told). I thought this was the best comic series I have read thus far. I am new to the comic world, only just started to read comics about two weeks ago. Next to Wolverine my favorite character is Spawn, just love the art and the story is awesome as well. I'm also read "The Sandman", so far I'm liking it a lot and am looking forward to reading some more of the series. If anyone has some personal favorites they would like to recommend to me that would be great.

I've just started picking up some comics at the library. What I've read so far:

Kurt Busieks' Astro City (Life In the Big City v1, Confession v2)-- I enjoyed the art in v1 but the various stories were OK. It was interesting and good enough for me to read v2, which luckily I had. v2 was definitely better. It seemed more a graphic novel instead of a trade with several seperate stories, which I suppose I prefer. Because I've already checked out most of the comics the libraries around here carry I'll probably check out v3 just because...

Alan Moores' Watchmen -- Engrossing. Good read, sucked me in and all that (except for some few things.. but no matter). The only thing that worries me is that everyone says it is one the greatest comic and all that...

Ruse, by Mark Waid - read v1 and v2 of the trades. Good stuff, fun and catchy. Wity banter and character interactions. It is a mystery type story in the vein of sherlock holmes. If the library carried any more volumes I would definitely get them.. but they dont. heh.

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller -- It put Batman in a better light for me. The batman show I used to see and and JL show I now see make him out to be the arrogant, always right leader... In Year One, it was nice to see him almost die every time he went out as Batman (this is when he just started for those that don't know). Very fast read but worth it to me.

Well that is all I've read so far, but I just started V for Vendetta and am planning to read Sandman, the League of Extraordinary Gent., and Meridian -- I wish the library had more CrossGen stuff.

Batman: Hush (#608-619). I really liked the art on the book.
However WTF happened to the story?

Loeb also wrote Long Halloween and Dark Victory, and whilst I enjoyed TLH immensley, I'm getting the distinct impression from DV and Hush that he writes a 12 issue arc with the sole purpose of including as many famous members of the Rogues gallery for the artist to render as possible, with the plot taking a back seat. The plots with the Superman and the joker, I've already read in dark knight returns, and the introduction of Bruce Wayne's childhood friend is just forced. Without Lee's art, I've got no doubt that this run would have suffered extremely low sales figures. Beginning, middle end please- not all a pretty fillerish middle.

Batman vs Predator -

***spoiler warning***

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did, but it isn't bad considering it's just an excuse for a fight scene or 2. The murky colouring suits the book. The main problem I've got is the choreography of the 1st fight between Batman and his adversary- it's not easy to follow that fight. The Bat is taken out of commission, and Alfred's paternalistic nature towards Bruce is made very clear eg hiding the remote control for the television whilst the killings continue/ drawing the curtains to hide the view of the batsignal so Bruce can recover. Meanwhile the sense of desperation experienced by the rest of Gotham as the killings mount up is well written. The return of Batman in his power armour at the end of the second issue comes as a welcome relief, and the fanboy meter goes up so much more than with Bruce's recovery in the Knightfall saga. Issue 3- Batman and Predator square off for the 2nd time, and you see Batman using his cunning as well as his skill to fight the bad guy. Guess who's got knowledge of the Battlefield this time- pits, nets, cages, Alfred with a blunderbuss.

It's not perfect by any means, but as long as you don't come into it expecting too much, Batman v Predator's a good yarn. All that's missing is a few smatterings of Frank Miller's internal monologue here and there. But not bad.

Batman/Superman: I really like the interaction here, and now Michael Turner is drawing so it's all of the good.
The Authority: Moral support. It's the Authority dude! One day it'll get good again, and every now and then Fabry and that other guy writes something funny like Kev!

At Arkham Asylum, the Joker is subjected to a brain-numbing regime of day-time television, among other things a Phil Donahue-type sensation talk show called The Barry Dancer Show, with the idea of bludgenoning him to 'become tame as a gerbil'. The pressure piles on until one day Joker just snaps and makes a Hannibal Lecteresque escape from the loonhouse. Only the treatments have severely affeced him and he's reduced to a drooling retard who can't remember any of his funny lines, let alone commit acts of villainy. Thus he is found by Dancer who is desperately looing for an act to boost his ratings. By a wierd legal loophole the police and Batman are held back from taking the Joker into custody. On the other hand, Dancer and his producer Cassandra Hahn pull out all the stops to make Joker a national celebrity, inviting a celeb psychiatrist to do on-screen couch sessions that will reveal the make-up of the killer clown.

Sounds interesting? You bet. The writing is the main star in this vehicle, pitch black in its humor and cynical as hell. It also makes a sweeping arc giving multiple origins for the Joker, including one set in the mythos of ancient Egypt. The illustrations are also no slouch, some of the surreal stuff completely mind-blowing

Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski (creator of Babylon 5) and John Romita, Jr.
This is the best this title has been in over ten years. JMS GETS the characters. He writes the dialogue perfectly and has injected a sense of fun and humor into the book that I haven't seen in quite a while. While I'm not a big fan of JRJr, his artwork is energetic and really communicates the agility of Spidey in action. Great stuff.

Negation by Tony Bedard and Paul Pelletier
High octane space opera action. A story about a group of beings from different planets in our universe abducted to the Negation universe and placed in a prison camp. They escape and are on the run, trying to find a way home. Interesting characters, well written stories, gorgeous artwork by Pelletier, and a cliffhanger every month.

Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
An interesting twist on the "last man on Earth" story. Yorrick finds himself as the last man on Earth after something kills off all animals on the planet with a Y chromosome. He, along with a special government agent and a genetecist are traveling across the country in a search for what caused this calamity. Great stuff. Another book with a cliffhanger every month.

Outsiders by Judd Winick and Tom Raney
Excellent superheroics. Gorgeous artwork by Raney. Nightwing and Arsenal form a group that will be more proactive when it comes to fighting supervillains. Wall to wall action and great character interaction make for a very enjoyable read month in and month out.

Flash by Geoff Johns and Howard Porter
Classic superheroics. Johns has taken the Flash's rogues and amped them up. No longer are they cheesy characters with gimmicks. They are truly horrifying now. Plus, Johns has given them background stories that make them human (see the Captain Cold issue). Great great stuff here.

Honorable mentions go to:

Stormwatch: Team Achilles - military superhero action
Way of the Rat - Hong Kong style kung fu action along the lines of a Jackie Chan movie
Wonder Woman - great stuff...Greg Rucka's the first writer who's kept me on this book longer than four issues
Gotham Central - crime drama set in Gotham City (Batman is there, but usually in the background)
Queen & Country - spy thriller by Greg Rucka focusing on field operatives of MI6
Sword of Dracula - a descendant of Van Helsing leads a military force in the hunt for Dracula, who now is nearly godlike in his power
Walking Dead - excellent zombie story along the lines of 28 Days
Abadazad - great children's fantasy

30 Days [Return to Barrow} (The third volume in this series) - Had to comment on this one. AMAZING HORROR. I mean, this stuff is great. Writer Steven Niles, and art by Ben Templesmith. This is one of the comics that will be on the big screen one day, but, it'll never do it justice since the art is such a pivotal part of the story.

Supreme Power - JMS (Dude from B5, and Amazing Spider-Man) And Gary Frank (art) show what happens to a world who is seeing the emergence of super beings. GREAT TITLE!

Here are the rest of my titles (Copied).. If they have some sort of mark next to them, it's cause I'm probably considering dropping the title.

What! Thank you for telling me. It seems that the news doesn't travel to the frozen north. Do you know if they plan to relaunch it or something?

I finally remebered to bring my comicbook list:
DC
JLA (loved the trades. Hopefully they continued to be as great)
JSA,
Nightwing (an old favourite. I was a bit worried for a while, but no longer)
Teen Titans (not so sure. I'm an old Titans fan, but I never had any interest in the Young Justice comic)
Outsiders (almost like the old Titans title. I like!)
Wonder Woman
Elfquest (I'm an old fan of EQ as well. Very glad to see that DC publishes new material, too. Even if it is in hardcover... )

Also, the Finnish editions of these comics:
- Mega which shows various Marvel comics. This year we have seen Hulk and Ultimates.
- Spider-Man
- X-men. They used to have both Uncanny X-Men and New X-men. However, currently they have Uncanny and X-treme X-men.
- Witchblade/ Darkness. Also has Rising Stars, Kin, and Witchblade specials and miniseries.
- DC comics has just started and they have Superman (Birthright), Batman (Hush) and Kingdom Come.
- Ranma 1/2
- almost forgot: Star Wars. Published 4 times a year.